HIST 4950/5950 (originally taught at Georgia College & State University. Syllabus is preserved in its original form.)
Fall 1999
A&S 2-72T/TH 12:30-1:45

    This course is dedicated to the Benedictine Sisters of Mt. St. Scholastica, who taught and continue to teach me the meaning of life, love, and the Benedictine life in a way books could never capture; and to the memory of Dr. Victoria Chandler, whose wit carried me through many hard times, and whose strength in adversity will not be forgotten.    

OFFICE HOURS: My office is in the Arts and Sciences building, room 2-50A (Dean's Suite). My office hours for the fall will be from 9:30-10:45 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and from 10:00-11:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If it is not possible for you to see me during these times, you may make an appointment. If you must see me outside of office hours, please try to make an appointment first, as I am frequently tied up in meetings and other duties. My phone number is x4441. I look forward to teaching you; please stop by my office to personally introduce yourself.

 

PERSONAL SAFETY: In the event of a fire alarm signal students should exit the building in a quick and orderly manner through the nearest hallway exit. First and Second floor classes should exit through ground level exits. Do not use elevator. Third floor stairwells are areas where disabled people may communicate with rescue workers. Be familiar with the floor plan and exits of this building.

 

REQUIRED READINGS: C. H. Lawrence, Medieval Monasticism: Forms of Religious Life in Western Europe in the Middle Ages; Jo Ann McNamara, transl., Sainted Women of the Dark Ages; Adalbert de Vogüé, The Life of Saint Benedict; The Rule of Saint Benedict( in English). In addition, you will be asked to read various assignments either on reserve at the library or handed out to you in your class packet.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: HIST 4950/5950: Medieval Monasticism is a survey of the forms of religious life in the medieval west, the major contributions of medieval monasticism to medieval and to modern culture, and of the major texts which governed medieval monastic life, expressed its fundamental values, and which inform us about patronage and the relationship of the monasteries to the secular world. We will take a journey together into the desert, and through the lives and sayings of the desert hermits explore the origins of monasticism; from there, we shall travel together through the cenobitic tradition, and explore the legacy of Benedictine, Cluniac, and Cistercian monasticism, as well as the new orders of the Central Middle Ages. We shall see how European culture was formed and developed out of the peregrinations of such monastics as St. Boniface, St. Columba, and St. Columbanus. The great medievalist Jean Leclerq described monastic culture as "as the love of learning and the desire for God," as we shall explore the legacy of learning which grew out of the monasteries, as well as the impact of the Benedictine motto "Ora et Labora" on the economy, social, and political life of Europe. Finally, we shall trace the continuity of these medieval traditions through to our own times, and explore some of the great modern houses and their lived experience of the monastic tradition. It is my hope that in the course of our studies of the major texts of the monastic tradition and how historians interpret them, students will also embark with the great monastics of past and present on a journey of self-discovery, as that journey is at the heart of the major Rules and texts we shall study. It will be my great pleasure to take this journey with you!

GRADING POLICIES: There will be two midterm exams and a final in the course, several short written/or computer-related assignments, and a term paper. There will also be several class discussion days in which students will be responsible for leading a portion of the class discussion. The midterm exams, the term paper, the final, the short written and discussion assignments will each be worth 20 percent each of your grade.

GRADUATE STUDENTS: Graduate students will complete a major research project in addition to the requirements above; the required term paper should be from 25-30 pages long. See the instructor for topics.

COURSE STRUCTURE: This course will consist of guided lectures and intensive discussion and analysis of primary sources. There will be days specifically devoted to discussion and analysis of sources, and the instructor will provide study questions for these sources. Your study questions for the Sayings of the Desert Fathers, the Life of St. Antony, The Life of St. Benedict, and The Rule of St. Benedict are included in this packet. The instructor will designate particular students to present an interpretation and take a position on selected questions, after which the discussion will be opened to the entire class. There will also be questions which you should come prepared to discuss for each and every class session; please look on your syllabus for these topics, as well as expect the instructor to provide other sets of questions to address. These questions and our discussion days will be crucial to our progress in the course, and they will take the form of a seminar in which all students are expected to participate. In essence, we will make an attempt to model our approach on Benedictine lectio, a style of learning which dominated medieval monastic life. We will also be learning how to read/interpret a medieval hagiography and exploring many problems associated with medieval texts. Please come prepared to immerse yourselves in these texts, and not to expect the instructor to dictate to you a particular interpretation or approach. Remember that we are taking this course together, and you must take an active role in our study! Together we shall come to a greater understanding of these sources in a way which I fervently hope will enrich not only your historical understanding of the medieval period, but also your life in general.

 

COURSE OUTLINE

 

August 19: Course introduction

A brief overview of major trends and developments in western medieval monasticism, from its origins in the desert along the Nile to the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century.

August 24: The Desert Hermits

"...there were monasteries in the mountains and the desert was made a city by monks, who left their own people and registered themselves for the citizenship in the heavens." Athanasius, The Life of Antony.

Why did the desert have such a powerful attraction to early Christians? In what ways can one interpret the "desert" as an experience?

"[Antony] remained truly the Father of all monks ... St. Antony's life, then, for the medieval monks is not simply an historical text, a source of information about a definitely dead past. It is a living text, a means of formation of monastic life." Jean Leclerq, The Love of Learning and the Desire for God.

What are the elements of Antony's life that served as a pattern for monastic life? Please also consult the study questions for the Life of St. Antony included in this packet.

Assigned reading: Lawrence, Chapter 1 through the section on St. Pachomius (non- inclusive); Athanasius, The Life of St. Antony ( on reserve and, yes, it is already there.) There will be intensive discussion of the Life of Antony; come prepared to discuss your study questions!

August 26: Into the Inner Mountain

From the Sayings of the Desert Fathers:

While still living in the palace, Abba Arsenius prayed To God in these words, "Lord, lead me in the way of salvation." And a voice came saying to him, "Arsenius, flee from men and you will be saved." ....

Having withdrawn to the solitary life he made the same prayer again and he heard a voice saying to him, "Arsenius, flee, be silent, pray always, for these are the source of sinlessness."

The Abba Antony also said, "Just as fish die if hey stay too long out of water, so the monks who loiter outside their cells or pass their time with men of the world lose the intensity of inner peace. So like fish going towards the sea, we must hurry to reach our cell, for fear that if we delay outside we will lose our interior watchfulness."

A certain brother went to Abbot Moses in Scete, and asked him for a good word. And the elder said to him, "Go, it in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything."

 

******************Discussion Day*****************

 

How are the monastic virtues of stability and obedience exemplified in the desert literature? What is the attitude towards individuality expressed in the desert literature? Please also see the study questions included with your syllabus. Please post your response to at least one of the study questions to your discussion board in Web Crossing.

Assigned reading: Sayings of the Desert Fathers; Life of Mary the Egyptian (on reserve)

August 31: The Desert goes to Western Europe: Cassian

Guest presentation by Dr. Dee Russell. Dr. Russell is a former Benedictine monk on our faculty, who has a special interest in Cassian.

Reading assignment: Lawrence, chapter 1, from "The Desert Tradition Transmitted to the West" through the end of the chapter; materials listed on Dr. Russell's WWW site, the link to which can be found on our course homepage under the Desert Hermits.

September 2: St. Basil and St. Pachomius

*students should have their term paper topics selected.

In what way does the Basilian Rule challenge the lifestyle and ideology of the Desert Hermits? What stance does the Basilian Rule take on individual asceticism? How does the Basilian text compare to the sayings of the Desert Fathers on the need for individual asceticism? To what extent does the organization of a Pachomian monastery reflect the organization and values of Roman society?

Reading assignment: Lawrence, chapter 1, sections on St. Basil and St. Pachomius; Short Rule of St. Basil available on the Internet through our course home page (see eastern monasticism).

September 7: St. Benedict of Nursia

To what extent is Gregory's Life of St. Benedict a biography? To what extent is Gregory's portrait an idealized portrait? What purposes might Gregory's portrait of St. Benedict have been meant to accomplish?

Reading assignment: Lawrence, chapter 2, "St. Benedict and his Biographer;" de Vogüé, ed., Life of St. Benedict.

September 9: The Rule of St. Benedict and its Sources

From the Rule of St. Benedict:

"Listen, my sons, to the words of a father who loves you...."

"Therefore, we intend to establish a school for the lord's service. In drawing up its regulations, we hope to set down nothing harsh, nothing burdensome."

How would you describe the personality of St. Benedict as compared to that of the Master? What is the relationship between the Benedictine values of stability, obedience, and conversatio?

 

******************Discussion Day****************

 

Reading assignment: Lawrence, chapter 2, "the Rule and its Sources;" The Rule of St. Benedict; excerpts from The Rule of the Master, on reserve at the library.

September 14th/16th: Special video on the life of St. Benedict. Please complete study questions and post to your Web Crossing forum.

September 21: Session in the computer lab. Please respond to Web Crossing Discussion questions on the Rule of St. Benedict. What is the role of the abbot in the community and how would you describe the model of leadership in the Benedictine Rule? What do you think is the ultimate lesson the monk is to learn through the steps of humility?

September 23: no class today. Work on your term paper bibliography.

September 28: The Rule of St. Benedict continued: From Profession to Life Everlasting

Reading assignment: Lawrence, chapter 2, "The Monk's Profession" and "the Monk's life according to the Rule."

September 30: The Rule of Caesarius and Women's Communities

*students should turn in their term paper bibliographies.

What attitudes toward women do the Life of St. Radegund and other assigned readings depict? What obstacles did a woman have to overcome to pursue a religious life?

***************Discussion Day*******************

 

Reading assignment: Lawrence, chapter 3, first section; Life of St. Radegund in Sainted Women, along with the introduction by Professor McNamara; Life of Genovefa, in Sainted Women; Life of Monegund, in Sainted Women; Rule of Caesarius (on reserve).

October 5: EXAM I

October 7: Irish Monasticism

"We are exiles in the far end of solitude,

living as listeners,

with hearts attending to the skies we cannot understand...."

St. Columba

What is the role of peregrination (journeying) in Irish monasticism? How is place itself indicative of journey, and how is a journey indicative of a place?

Reading assignment: Lawrence, chapter 3; Life of Columba, Voyage of St. Brendan (all on reserve). Please explore Dr. Vess's virtual tour of Glendalough and Iona on the course home page, as well as The Book of Kells (on reserve). Study questions to be distributed.

October 12: Merovingian Monasticism

What do the sources reveal about royal and noble patronage of monasteries, and the role of women in Merovingian monasticism?

****************Discussion Day*************

Reading assignment: Life of Clothild, Life of Burgundofara, Life of Sadalberga, in Sainted Women; Vess and Sutera, eds. Merovingian Women (on reserve and on course home page in password protected file). Study questions will be distributed; please post your response to at least two of the questions on your discussion board in Web Crossing.

October 14: Anglo-Saxon Monasticism

There is an urgency to Bede's introduction to his Ecclesiastical History. What are the problems to which Bede points in his Ecclesiastical History, and how is his history indicative of a solution to those problems? What is the role of women in his history and in Anglo-Saxon monasticism in general?

Reading Assignment: Vess and Sutera, eds. Anglo-Saxon Monastic Women (on reserve and on course home page in password protected file);excerpts from the Venerable Bede, Ecclesiastical History (on reserve); Knowles, "Bede," on reserve; Lawrence, chapters 4 and 5.

October 15: Last day to drop with a "W"

October 19: Reforms of the tenth and eleventh centuries: The Cluniacs, Dunstan, and the monastic school at Bec

Reading Assignment: Lawrence, chapters 6 and 7; Knowles, "Anselm" (on reserve); Knowles, "Lanfranc" (on reserve); Anselm, excerpts from the Proslogion (distributed in class; accessible through the course home page as well).

October 21: The Religious Zeal of the Late Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries: The Growth of New Orders: The Cistercians and the Hermit Orders

Possible field trip to the monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers.

What were the reforms of the Cistercians? What conditions and practices were people like Robert of Molesme reacting to when they went into "the howling wilderness"?

Reading Assignment: Carta Caritatis (access this online through your course home page); selections from Lekai, The White Monks and The Eleventh Century Background of Citeaux (on reserve); Lawrence, chapters 8 and 9.

October 26: Bernard of Clairvaux

"You will find something more in the woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters."

St. Bernard, Epistola 106.

Why is Bernard of Clairvaulx known as "the difficult saint"? Why did he challenge the works of Abelard?

*****************Discussion Day*************

Reading Assignment: The Ladder of Humility (on reserve); brief biographical entry of Bernard from the Catholic Encyclopedia (online through our course home page); Basil Pennington's overview of the life of Bernard (online through your course home page).

October 28: Case Studies: Fountains Abbey, Rievaulx Abbey, and Aelred of Rievaulx

What does the history and growth of Fountains Abbey reveal about the relationship and patronage of laymen to monastic settlements? What does the life of Aelred reveal about relationships within monastic communities?

Reading Assignment: excerpts from Dom David Knowles Saints and Scholars: Aelred of Rievaulx (on reserve); Dr. Vess's Virtual Tours of Fountains and Rievaulx Abbeys on the Internet (consult the class home page for links); excerpts from Brian Patrick McGuire, Friendship and Community on reserve; excerpts from Walter Daniel's Life of Aelred on reserve; excepts from Aelred's Spiritual Friendship.

November 2: EXAM II

November 4: Monastic Women in the Central Middle Ages: Reform and Protest in the lives and writings of Heloise and the Beguines

What are Heloise's difficulties with the Rule of St. Benedict as a Rule for women? Are these objections historically valid in terms of the ways in which the Rule was lived? In what ways does Abelard's response to her address or fail to address her contentions?

Reading Assignment: Letters of Abelard and Heloise: Heloise's request for Direction, Abelard's History of Women Religious, and his Rule for women monastics (on reserve); Life of Marie D'Oignies (on reserve); Lawrence, chapter 11.

 

November 9: Monastic Women in the Central Middle Ages: Hildegard of Bingen

In what ways was Hildegard of Bingen a woman of her times, and in what ways was she not? What concept of the Divine did her visions and her interpretations of them express?

Reading Assignment: excerpts from Scivias on reserve; Barbara Newman, "Divine Power Made Perfect in Weakness: St. Hildegard on the Frail Sex," on reserve.

November 11: The Military Orders

What events prompted the formation of the military orders? In what ways were these orders monastic, and in what ways did their structure and practices depart from earlier examples of monasticism?

Reading Assignment: Lawrence, chapter 10.

November 16/18: The Franciscans

attributed to St. Francis:

"Lord,

Make me an instrument of Your peace.

Where there is hatred let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light; and

Where there is sadness, joy...."

In what ways was the lifestyle and ethos of St. Francis a departure from traditional monasticism? Why was Clare's attempt to follow this lifestyle problematic for the position of women in the Church?

Reading Assignment: Lawrence, chapter 12; Thomas of Celano, Two Lives of St. Francis (online through your course home page) ; excerpts from the Little Flowers of St. Francis on reserve. Please post your responses to the questions on your discussion board prior to class today.

November 23: Dominicans and Thomas Aquinas

"Reason in men is like God in the world."

St. Thomas Aquinas, Opuscule 11, de Regno

What is Aquinas's view of the relationship between reason and faith as expressed in the Summa Theologiae? Please post your responses to your web crossing discussion forum prior to the class today!

Reading Assignment: Lawrence, chapter 12 (section on the Order of Preachers); excepts from St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae on reserve.

November 30: Medieval Monastic Women in the later Middle Ages: The nuns of Helfta, the fourteenth century English Mystics, St. Catherine of Sienna, and St. Theresa of Avila

Reading Assignment: excerpts from Julian of Norwich, Showings; The Cloud of Unknowing.

December 2: Renaissance critique of monasticism

In what ways was Utopia a product of Renaissance Humanism and a critique of medieval culture? In what ways does the society of Book II of Utopia resemble a monastery and in what ways does it not?

****************Discussion Day******************

 

Reading Assignment: Thomas More, Utopia on reserve; electronic version accessible through the course home page as well. Please post your responses to the questions on your discussion board prior to class today.

 

December 7: The Dissolution of the Monasteries

*term papers due

Were the monasteries corrupt in the sixteenth century?

Reading Assignment: excerpts from Gasquet, Henry VIII and the English Monasteries on reserve; excerpts from Martin Luther, On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, on reserve.

 

December 9: Epilogue: Monasticism in the Modern World

 

How is monasticism expressed in the modern world? How and why has monasticism survived until the present day?

 

Reading Assignment: explore Dr. Vess's Virtual Tour of Mt. St. Scholastica monastery, accessible through your course home page.

 

FINAL EXAM: 11:00-1:45, Tuesday, December 14th